Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. (Song 2.15)

The scripture speaks of tender grapes, which might refer to young or immature believers, these being perhaps more vulnerable to being crushed or damaged. Or it might be more general; since we are all fragile; weak and frail at best.

It is the ‘little foxes’ that spoil the tender grapes. These may not be the ‘obvious’ challenges to our faith. Litte foxes might be overlooked or easily hidden.

A great many matters might be ‘little.’ We refer to serious sins; sins of the flesh – minimising sins of attitude or thought, of wrong ambition, etc. We might add laziness, or tolerating crude language, or carelessness. Of course, one risk with providing examples is that I miss those faults which I most need to address in my own life! Our culture minimises personal wrong-doing; sins are excused not confessed. We indulge bad attitudes, ‘menial’ sins, peccadillos.

Jesus took aside the blind man. After laying His hands on him, he could see men ‘like trees walking.’ This required a second work from Jesus, a work of focus, giving clarity. Might Jesus focus our understanding, that we might see better the ‘little foxes’ more clearly!

Conclusion:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7.3-5)

Jesus spoke of dust and a plank. He highlights the risk of hypocrisy. The image is well-strong and well understood. The context is of us serving one another as brothers and sisters. There remains a need to rid my own eyes of planks as well as dust; as Jesus says, so I can see clearly to remove the speck of dust from my brother’s eye.

This is a phrase which appears in Paul’s letter to the Church in Philippi; the theme is found throughout the book of Acts and the NT letters.

I preached on this topic in November 2024. The link is here, should you wish to listen to it. https://www.thebridgechurch.co.uk/media/ (Phil 2.19-28)

I mentioned a number of connections the Bridge Church has established across the world. These have developed especially since the cover-19 pandemic.

One precious characteristic of these partnerships is mutuality. We want to avoid dominance and dependence. We prefer inter-dependence. No longer is mission ‘from the west to the rest,’ but rather is ‘from everywhere to everywhere.’ This avoids the patronising, hierarchical relationships that were developed historically. And I have seen these in practice – not at all pleasant!

The apostle Paul refers to this mutuality here:

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”  (2 Cor 8.13-15)

 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only. (Phil 4.15)

I love that phrase ‘giving and receiving.’ In different seasons of my life I give and receive. In tough times, I need to be humble, receiving from others. In other moments I might bless others. The local Church has its own seasons, receiving from the ministry of others; releasing members to serve elsewhere. And this is always in partnership.

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you,  but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

(Matthew 26.6-13 ) This records an incident towards the end of Jesus’ earthly life. Jesus visited Bethany, just outside Jerusalem, ahead of his final journey into the city. He would then share a final meal with the Twelve, walk to Gethsemane, be arrested and put to death.

Deuteronomy 15 includes a section concerning the seventh year of the Jewish calendar, which included the cancellation of debts, which was designed to provide for the poor. Verses 4 and 5 strongly link the statement ‘there should be no poor among you’ with the people’s full obedience to these commands.  Obedience to the commands to forgive debts, to bless the poor, would be rewarded by overflowing blessings upon the nation,

Yet verse 11 indicates ‘there will always be the poor,’ since the circumstances of life in a broken world tend towards unfair distribution of all material things; food, wealth, etc. And, I might add, national disobedience thereafter guaranteed this.

In the early chapters of Acts, there is a different approach. The first believers ‘had everything in common’ (2.44-45) and ‘no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own’ (4.32-35).

This is a different way of thinking. Instead of obedience to earn blessings, we respond to abundant blessings which come by faith in Christ, by generous and costly obedience. There is an organic overflow of blessing in the community of faith.

In recalling a meeting with the apostles, James, Peter and John, Paul comments that they urged him to continue to remember the poor (Gal 2,10).

Generosity towards others was and is, as essential mark of the New Testament way of life.